Nikki Haley Signs Draconian Anti-Immigrant Bill

South Carolina Governor Signs $1.3 Million Immigration Enforcement Law

This week, on the same day that a federal judge enjoined key provisions of Georgia’s immigration law, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed an Arizona-style immigration bill into law. To date, federal judges in four states (Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia) have blocked key provisions of their Arizona-inspired immigration laws, arguing that these laws unlawfully interfere with federal authority over immigration matters. So what makes South Carolina any different? Nothing, except for the $1.3 million price tag in addition to the cost of implementation and legal fees incurred from defending the law.

On Monday, Gov. Haley signed S 20, a law which requires law enforcement in South Carolina to call federal authorities if they reasonably suspected a person they’ve stopped, detained or arrested is in the country without documentation. The law, which also requires employers to use E-Verify to check the citizenship status of new hires and existing employees, creates a special unit of immigration law enforcement officers—a unit estimated to cost the state $1.3 million.

And South Carolina can expect to spend even more defending the law against costly legal battles. The ACLU and National Immigration Law Center said they will sue South Carolina, as they have in other states, on the grounds that law’s provisions “sanction discriminatory and unconstitutional practices by police officers and employers by inviting racial profiling of Latinos and others.” To date, Arizona has spent upwards of $1.9 million in legal fees defending their law.

Farmers in South Carolina are also worried that the new law will hurt the agriculture industry, making it harder for farmers to find workers, whom they worry will stay away from the state “for fear of harassment just because they’re from Mexico.” One farmer said that Gov. Haley “may get what she wants in keeping illegal immigrants out of South Carolina but it may keep the legal immigrants out too.”

South Carolina, which faced a $1.3 billion budget gap in FY2011, should also expect to lose the tax revenue generated by undocumented immigrants in the state. According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, households headed by unauthorized immigrants in South Carolina paid $43.6 million in state and local taxes in 2010. According to another study, if all unauthorized immigrants were removed from South Carolina, the state would lose $1.8 billion in economic activity, $782.9 million in gross state product, and approximately 12,059 jobs if all unauthorized immigrants were removed from South Carolina.

That’s a heavy price to pay for a law that attempts to regulate what many judges agree is a federal issue. In a recent hearing, U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash, Jr.—who enjoined key provisions of Georgia’s immigration law this week—commented:

“You are not going to have 50 systems of immigration regulation,” said Judge Thrash. “In Georgia, you are going to have 159. Every county, every municipality is going to decide what its immigration policy is going to be under this law.”

Barring a block by a federal judge, South Carolina’s immigration law will go into effect January 1, 2012.

Comments

I work for a agriculture company i see all the illegal aliens that come to work, they stay send money home and bring loved ones in by way of coyote.
They then do what they must to have children knowing they will not have to leave the us.
Every year it is seasonal so at least part of the year they get food stamps unemployment welfare and all kinds of help that we pay for.
No i think it a good law as it will open jobs up for young people now that have no work or any chance of finding work and yes lots of thees citizens get food stamps and help because they have no work.

Are you saying that it’s expansive to enforce the law, so we shouldn’t bother?

…on the grounds that law’s provisions “sanction discriminatory and unconstitutional practices by police officers and employers by inviting racial profiling of Latinos and others.”

To date, Arizona has spent upwards of $1.9 million in legal fees defending their law.

The cost of defending this law is much, much cheaper than the cost of paying for the food, housing, education, healthcare etc. of all of the children of illegal aliens. And I think you and the ACLU are being pretty racist to imply that all illegal aliens are dark skinned Latinos.

One farmer said that Gov. Haley “may get what she wants in keeping illegal immigrants out of South Carolina but it may keep the legal immigrants out too.”

Bullcrap, to use a farming expression. Legal immigrants will benefit because illegal aliens degrade their wages. Farmers can force illegal aliens to work under the table in unsafe conditions, and can even pressure them to make their kids work, which is clearly unethical and illegal. When farmers can’t hire illegal aliens, they’ll have to pay legal wages to American citizens and immigrants. Seth Hoy knows this, which is why he quoted some unnamed farmer instead of making that absurd statement himself.

Legal immigrants will find that agribusiness employers (“farmers,” in Seth Hoy’s make believe world) will suddenly be willing to give them honest money for their hard work. They’ll also have to follow OSHA workplace safety rules and minimum pay laws and child labor laws, etc. etc..

“You are not going to have 50 systems of immigration regulation,” said Judge Thrash. “In Georgia, you are going to have 159. Every county, every municipality is going to decide what its immigration policy is going to be under this law.”

OK, so let’s simplify things: Write laws so that employers who hire illegal aliens go to jail and lose their farm or other business (development project, meat processing plant, etc.). That simple fix would solfe our illegal alien crisis. The federal government doesn’t enforce immigration policy because elected officials are bought and sold by corporations like agribusiness companies. States that are paying the cost of businesses hiring illegal aliens are sinking under the weight of costs that should be borne by these unethical employers. Those costs include taxpayer funded housing, food, healthcare and education of illegal aliens and their children. We simply can’t afford it anymore.

People like Seth Hoy generate bleeding heart liberal support for bad policies like amnesty for illegal aliens. But at some point, progressives will start to realize that their compassion is misplaced and they should be supporting policies that change the economies in Latin American countries instead of downgrading our own economy so the rich can get richer off of all of our labor.

Here’s hoping people like Seth Hoy wise up, or at least that the people who read his articles realize the huge amount of damage he and his organization have done to this country.

if all unauthorized immigrants were removed from South Carolina, the state would lose …approximately 12,059 jobs.

Or perhaps those companies would hire American citizens and legal immigrants instead. It’s just astounding that people like Seth Hoy think that if it costs more money to hire American citizens, that’s a problem. We’ve spent decades establishing workers’ rights in this country, including minimum pay, social security tax, OSHA safety regulations, workers compensation tax and child labor laws. Now liberals like Seth want to throw that all away and let companies cheat again by hiring illegal aliens? Sure, Seth, that’s a “heavy price to pay” to keep corporations and agribusiness honest.

National Immigration Law Center said they will sue South Carolina, as they have in other states, on the grounds that law’s provisions “sanction discriminatory and unconstitutional practices by police officers and employers by inviting racial profiling of Latinos and others.”

That’s so ridiculous. If Seth Hoy and others weren’t constantly trying to PROMOTE Hispanics over others, they’d see that these laws apply to ALL illegal aliens, not just those from Latin countries. Yup, those illegal aliens from the Soviet Union better watch out. Oh wait, Seth Hoy doesn’t care about them because they’re white.

Farmers in South Carolina are also worried that the new law will hurt the agriculture industry…

Agribusiness and other dishonest corporations rake in the profits from hiring illegal aliens while the public has to pay the cost of their children’s education, housing, food and medical care. This law means they’ll have to hire American citizens or legal immigrants, and pay them honestly. Why would any progressive be against that?

Wellness

Carole Bartolotto: The problem with concluding that GMOs are safe is that the argument for their safety rests solely on animal studies. These studies are offered as evidence that the debate over GMOs is over. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Environmentalism

Margo McCall: There’s increasing evidence that adopting a plant-based diet is better for human health, the planet, and of course for the more than 9 billion animals that are killed for consumption each year in the U.S alone.